1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector which protects wires coming out of a connector housing by a cover.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prior art connector is shown in FIG. 7, and includes a connector housing 1 for accommodating terminals (not shown) inside. Wires 2 come out of the connector housing 1 through its rear end surface. A protection tube 3 surrounds the wires 2, and a tubular cover 4 is mounted on a rear end portion of the connector housing 1 to surround exposed portions of the wires 2 between the connector housing 1 and the protection tube 3. A loose displacement of the protection tube 3 along its longitudinal direction is restricted by locking the protection tube 3 in the cover 4.
The prior art cover 4 is formed such that two half pieces 4a having a semicylindrical configuration are connected via a hinge 4b. At a front part of the cover 4 is formed an engaging portion 4c to be engaged with the connector housing 1. At a rear part of the cover 4 is formed a lock portion 4d which is corrugated to be engageable with circumferentially extending recesses and projections formed in the outer surface of the protection tube 3.
To mount the prior art cover 4, one of the two half pieces 4a, in their opened state, is partly engaged with the connector housing 1, and a front end part of the protection tube 3 is partly engaged with the lock portion 4d of this half piece 4a. The half pieces 4a then may be closed and locked by an unillustrated lock member. In this way, the prior art cover 4 is assembled into a tubular form and is mounted on the connector housing 1. Additionally the protection tube 3 is mounted on the cover 4 in such a manner that its loose displacement with respect to the cover 4 is restricted. In this way, the assembling is completed.
The above prior art connector has a poor operability because the protection tube 3 needs to be positioned with respect to the lock portion 4d when being mounted on the cover 4.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to improve operability when a protection tube is mounted on a cover.